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1. Consumer Affairs.com is

1. Consumer Affairs.com is just a blog board. It is full of rumor and mis-information. Alot by people who hate Prius. Probably Exxon Executives.

2. The fuel tank gauge is a problem, but just a minor inconvenience. Bottom line, don't try to drive around on an empty tank. Do you think the price of fuel is going to go down between now and next Thursday? FIll the tank, dummy!

3. The rumors of Prius failing in snow and slippery conditions are false reports, mostly by people who do not know how to drive!!!

Prius has traction control on the engine, similar to the skid control on brakes. You CANNOT do "donuts" in a Prius, or spin the tires at high speed. When the wheels slip the engine output is LIMITED, not eliminated. The engine DOES NOT "Shut Off" or "Fail" when the wheels slip, the throttle just backs off until the wheels stop slipping.

Note to idiots: Spining the tires in deep snow/mud just gets you stuck deeper. Slow and gentle rocking gets you out of a mud/snow bank.

AND in this respect, Prius ROCKS at rocking itself out of deep snow. There is NO REVERSE GEAR. The car goes in reverse by running the electric motor backwards. So the car lets you shift from drive to reverse to drive to reverse VERY QUICKLY. Far faster than any automatic transmission. The Prius is very easy to get out of a snow bank, IF YOU ARE A COMPETENT DRIVER.

Now the downside: Prius only has FIVE INCHES ground clearance. It is not designed for "off road" use. I have previously been driving trucks and SUV's for 20 years, so it did take a little to get used to not jumping curbs, or diving into mud pits. Just keep the Prius on hard surfaces and it will never let you down.

I have had the same problems

I have had the same problems with my 2007 Prius. This past winter I have not been able to put more than 6.5 gals in my tank. After having the computer panel in the dash changed 5 times and the gas tank replaced once, my problem still exists. After calling Toyota and registering my complaint, I was told this is "normal" because of the bladder issue and low temps in my area (WV). They would not look at my car until the temps were higher. This was in March. It is now 95 degrees here and still no change. Needless to say, I was not happy so I filed my complaint with NCDS ( National Center for Dispute Settlement). I had a hearing with Toyota who again said there was nothing wrong with my car. This was a normal thing for this car and there is no way to determine how much gas is in the tank. Call me dumb, but that is what the fuel gauge is for.

I won my case and Toyota is replacing my car. I am getting an 08 this week. Needless to say, if this problem occurs again, I will do this again. I would like to see all people who are having this problem do the same. If Toyota has to keep replacing or buying back cars, maybe they will do something to fix this problem. From what I have read here this is not an isolated thing. As long as your car is under the origional warrenty, this option is open to you. Check your warrenty book for details on how to initiate this process.

That being said, I really like this car and the benefits still far outweigh the drawbacks. I asked what was going to be done with my car and was told Toyota was taking it back and would tear it apart to study this problem. We'll see, I guess.

Well, it is official from

Well, it is official from Toyota Corporate ... if you do happen to have challenges filling your gas tank ... there is NO fix ... Toyota notes that 6 - 7 gallons at a fill up is normal, what is not normal is being able to acutally fill your gas tank.

I am perosnally astounded and saddened that this design flaw has not yet been corrected.

I do agree with Sherry, the last post, that overall the car seems good. I hope Toyota does take care of the bladder issue so you can have a better idea of how many gallons you can drive on a tank of gas ... not down to fumes, but the difference between 6 or 7 gallons at 45mpg and 10 gallons at 45mpg.

Here is the response from Toyota Corporate ... you will note that they do encourage comments from owners.

As your Case Manager explained to you, this is the design of the fuel tank and there is no repair available to change the design.

We appreciate you taking the time to let us know of your dissatisfaction with the fuel tank bladder because the only way we know what our customers are looking for is when they tell us, as you have. We try to scope our customers out in advance, by researching the market, conducting interviews, surveys, focus groups and doing our homework, but there's no better source than a Toyota owner who takes the time to tell us like it is.

We can't guarantee that a change would be made, but if it were, it would be driven by just this sort of honest communication.

We have documented your email at our National Headquarters under file #. If we can be of further assistance, please feel free to contact us.

The car sounds like a royal

The car sounds like a royal pain in the behind.

Hybrids are a total marketing scam to lead people into thinking that they are doing good for the planet and saving money at the same time.

I get 33 -35 mpg from my 1993 Corolla. I don't have problems with running out of fuel, I pay 30 bucks a month for comp. insurance and no car payment!! You guys save perhaps $600 - 700 a year in gas over me but you paid a $5000 or more premium to do so!! How many years will that take to pay off (probably with interest too).

I hope they figure out a good way to recycle all the toxic materials from the batteries.

P.S. I used to get 45 - 50 mpg from my '91 Jetta Diesel. Only problem with Diesel cars in the USA is the lack of stations selling it, otherwise I would probably still be commuting in it. It doesn't really look like technology has really come all that far in the last 17 years does it?

I love my Prius but have the

I love my Prius but have the same gas tank issues. I would get down to one flashing bar and would only be able to put in 9 gallons. I am a little concerned because I put 12.6 gallons in the tank. I was told it only held 12. ( I live in Florida and it ha been extremely hot.) My consumption stated 41 mpg but when you do the math 398 miles divided by 12.6 g you average 31.6 mpg.

I did not go to school to understand cars or fix them. So maybe I am doing something wrong. I apologize for any misunderstandings that I have about this gas tank. I never even heard of a rubber bladder until 10 minutes ago when I started reading these posts.

Has anyone had AC issues? I bought my in February and as soon as the new car scent went away there was a terrible mildew smell. I am bringing it in for a check up.

You might want to check the

You might want to check the Air Conditioning air filter for contamination or debris (like dead insects). It's located behind the lower glove compartment. I think the owner's manual has instructions on how to get to it.

I love my prius, near San

I love my prius, near San Francisco. Since November I've always filled up about 9.5 gallons, driving about 10-20 miles after the flashing begins.

This past weekend I did a lot of freeway driving on cruise control and the MPG kept going up up up, so I was happy when I saw 470miles when the flashing went on. (Usually it's about 420 miles). Figured I got an extra 4-5mpg on that tank.

Then I filled up 11.5 gallons!!

So I came online to find out how big the tank is...wondering if I was getting ripped by the station.

My experience is similar to

My experience is similar to that of Andrew Slater. I generally (not always) run my 2005 Prius to one bar, and perhaps 1/2 the time down to a blinking bar. Like Andrew, if the bar begins to blink, I generally don't drive more than 20 miles more.

The most I have ever filled up is 9.5 or maybe 9.6 gallons.

I think the more reliable test is to go by mileage. Of course, first you need to learn your mileage: mine is about 50 mpg in winter and 55-58 in summer. So in winter in can go perhaps 420-450 miles; in summer up to 550.

I have a Prius 2008 and just

I have a Prius 2008 and just took it on its first long road trip. I was interested to see how the car did. I live in Louisiana and the temp here is at a constant 90 degrees during the summer.
After 573miles averaging 47.8mpg, I finally pulled into a gas station as the gauge switched to the last bar.

I own a Prius. So, since the

I own a Prius. So, since the Prius' gas tank is not holding the same amount of gas from fill to fill, how can one calculate mileage accurately? And how is the Prius calculating its own mileage on that display on the console? Does it know how much gasoline it is depleting, or what? And how does it know that?